Mahdieh Hashemi (born in Iran) receives a naturalization certificate from Sonja Fietz (l) at a naturalization ceremony at the Central Naturalization Office of the State Office for Immigration in Berlin-Wedding.
© dpa
The new central naturalization office of the State Office for Immigration (LEA) in Berlin is set to more than double the number of naturalizations in the future.
"We will naturalize at least 20,000 people here every year," said Wiebke Gramm, Head of the Department for Citizenship Affairs, during a press tour of the new building on Wednesday. Last year there had only been around 8,000 naturalizations.
Until now, the districts in the capital were responsible for naturalization. Since the beginning of the year, everything has been handled centrally at the newly created authority in Sellerstraße in Wedding. Everything is to become faster, more efficient and, above all, more digital, said Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) and LEA Director Engelhard Mazanke during the tour. According to the plan, piles of files will be a thing of the past in the future, with all steps being carried out on the computer instead.
"We want to shorten waiting times," said Mazanke. Until now, applicants had sometimes waited years before being successfully naturalized. According to him, there are currently 40,000 outstanding applications due to the backlog from previous years. In order to speed up the process, there will no longer be personal consultations in future - long waiting times for an appointment will be eliminated. Instead, naturalization applicants will be able to check online in a so-called quick check whether they meet the requirements for naturalization.
Spranger said she was "proud" of the new authority, which presented itself as a glossy administration with modern workspaces and hybrid work opportunities. The aim is not only to make the administration more efficient, but also to make it an attractive employer. According to Spranger, there are around 7,000 vacancies in the Berlin administration. According to Mazanke, the naturalization office is also still lacking specialists. The number of positions was increased from 90 in the districts to 210 with the restructuring.